Spurs 116, Timberwolves 100 – Tony Parker hurt

Tim Duncan erupted for 21 points and 15 rebounds in only 25 minutes to lead the Spurs to a convincing 116-100 victory over Minnesota Wednesday night at the AT&T Center as a prelude to the retirement of Bruce Bowen’s jersey.

Stephen Jackson had a triumphant return in his first game back with 16 points including three 3-pointers as the Spurs produced a balanced attack with six players in double figures.

The victory was marred with 8:03 left in the second quarter when Spurs leading scorer Tony Parker went to the locker room with tightness in his left hamstring and did not return.

Parker was accompanied to the locker room by Spurs trainer Will Sevening and team doctor David Schmidt. He did not return to the team bench during the rest of the game, finishing with two points and six assists in 11 minutes.

His status for Friday’s game against Dallas is unknown.

Minnesota was led by J.J. Barea with 18 points and a game-high 11 assists and Kevin Love with 17 points and 12 rebounds.

The victory enabled the Spurs (30-14) to claim their first victory of the season against the Timberwolves after losing two earlier games this season. It was their third victory in their last four games and pushed them to 6-4 since the All-Star break.

The Timberwolves (23-25) were gunning to become only the fourth team to have logged season sweeps of three-plus games against the Spurs in the Gregg Popovich coaching era.

The Spurs’ triumph extended their 15-game home winning streak against the Timberwolves. Minnesota’s last victory in San Antonio came on Jan. 14, 2004. The streak is tied for the fourth-longest active winning streak against a specific opponent.

The Timberwolves dropped to 2-6 since rookie point guard Ricky Rubio was lost for the season against the Los Angeles Lakers on March 9.

But the Spurs took control during a 14-5 at the end of the first quarter punctuated by a Jackson 3-pointer.

Minnesota played without starting center Nikola Pekovic, forcing Kevin Love to start at center. Pekovic’s absence enabled the Spurs to jump to an early 7-1 edge on the boards and an overall 56-41 edge in the game. The Spurs were outrebounded by an average of 10 in two earlier losses to the Timberwolves in Minnesota.

The Spurs led by double digits most of the second quarter before a late Minnesota charge pulled them within 56-47 at the half.

They pushed their lead to 22 at 91-69 on a dunk by Tiago Splitter with 54.3 seconds left in the third quarter.

The Spurs played without Matt Bonner, who missed his first game of the season with back spasms that kicked up at the end of Tuesday’s practice.

Updates by Joe Alexander

Stephen Jackson had a winning return but Tony Parker left with an injury as the Spurs beat the Timberwolves 116-100.

Parker left the game with 8:03 left in the first half. The Spurs report he has tightness in his left hamstring and will not return.

Tim Duncan led the Spurs with 21 points and 15 rebounds. Jackson had 16 points in his first home game as a Spur since 2003.

Fourth quarter: Gary Neal has 16 points and Kawhi Leonard has 14. The Spurs lead 114-92 with 3:34 left in the game.

Former local high school star Eric Dawson gets in the game with 4:08 left for the Spurs. This is the first time he has played in a Spurs home game.

This looks like a game when Tim Duncan gets the fourth quarter off. The Spurs lead the Timberwolves. 106-89 with 5:36 left.

Matt Bonner update: Matt Bonner will not play tonight due to back spasms, according to a report from Mike Monroe. Bonner has played in every game this season and averages 7.2 points and 3.3 rebounds. He leads the Spurs in 3-pointers made (79).

The Spurs will retire Bruce Bowen’s No. 12 jersey tonight. Bowen was a member of Spurs NBA championship teams in 2003, 2005 and 2007.

The Spurs play at home tonight against the Minnesota Timberwolves at 7:30 p.m. (Central) at the AT&T Center.

Join Jeff McDonald and Tim Griffin for a live game chat (below) beginning at 7 p.m.